Baroness Deech
Main Page: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Baroness Deech's debates with the Cabinet Office
(3 years, 11 months ago)
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The Lord Speaker (Lord Fowler)
Lord Howarth of Newport. No? Baroness Deech.
Baroness Deech (CB)
Does the Minister agree that the only contingency worth considering at this moment is that if we stay tied to the European Union beyond 31 December, we face paying into a dramatically increased EU budget next year, with new taxes? It has been estimated that staying in might cost us £380 billion over the next two years. Is it not time to make sure that we get out by 31 December?
Lord True
My Lords, I am not going with any particular prediction on this question, as I did not on an earlier one—there will be a range of opinions—but I fully agree with the noble Baroness that, were we to stay attached to the EU beyond December, we would face uncertain, unknown but substantial costs in terms of our duties to make payments to the European Union.